With an exciting new season of sailing on the horizon, it was time to rescue Aurora from her storage shed. The maintenance I promised her at the end of last season have not happened, so predictably I’m doing it now. In a hurry. First on the agenda was the woodwork. The cape cutter 19 has enough wood to look pretty, but not so much that maintenance is a chore. Nevertheless, the varnish on the strakes and coach roof are looking pretty tatty and in need of TLC. I decided to strip the varnish off completely and protect the wood with oil rather than fresh varnish. My logic was that I prefer the look of matt oil finish to easily bruised varnish. I am expecting that the oiled wood will not need rubbing down, but a swift reapplication between launches a few times a season. Time will tell.
Anyway, two thick coats of Nitromors and careful scraping removed the flaky old varnish. The sealant between the hull and strake was damaged by the scraping, so I cut most off with a Stanley knife and then reapplied prior to the oil treatment . Fortunately, I had had a demonstration of how to apply the sealant last season at Honnor marine. I chose Deks Olje D1 to treat the wood, after consultation with other owners on the Cape Cutter 19 owners forum. Now I need to strip the coach roof woodwork and Sampson Post….
Travelling Aurora - journeys of a Cape Cutter 19 